Michael Laurenzano Photography
Example of a mid-sized minimalist l-shaped porcelain tile enclosed kitchen design in Miami with a double-bowl sink, flat-panel cabinets, dark wood cabinets, solid surface countertops, white backsplash, glass tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and a peninsula

Photo's Kris Tamburello
Inspiration for a modern galley light wood floor and beige floor open concept kitchen remodel in New York with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, light wood cabinets, white backsplash, stainless steel appliances and a peninsula

Example of a mid-sized minimalist gray two-story concrete exterior home design

Photo by David Burroughs
Inspiration for a small modern front yard stone and rectangular infinity pool remodel in DC Metro

Inspiration for a large modern master white tile and marble tile porcelain tile, gray floor, double-sink and wainscoting bathroom remodel in Phoenix with flat-panel cabinets, gray cabinets, a one-piece toilet, white walls, a vessel sink, quartz countertops, white countertops and a floating vanity

Example of a minimalist white floor living room design in Los Angeles

Living room - large modern open concept dark wood floor living room idea in Portland with gray walls, a ribbon fireplace, a tile fireplace and a wall-mounted tv

Open concept kitchen - mid-sized modern l-shaped medium tone wood floor and brown floor open concept kitchen idea in Chicago with a farmhouse sink, flat-panel cabinets, quartz countertops, white backsplash, an island, white cabinets, stone slab backsplash, paneled appliances and white countertops

A minimal palette of rift-sawn white oak and white plaster informs the interior spaces of Five Shadows. The seeming simplicity of forms and materiality is the result of rigorous alignments and geometries. Architecture by CLB – Jackson, Wyoming – Bozeman, Montana. Interiors by Philip Nimmo Design.

Mark Angeles
Open concept kitchen - mid-sized modern l-shaped medium tone wood floor and beige floor open concept kitchen idea in Los Angeles with a double-bowl sink, an island, flat-panel cabinets, dark wood cabinets, quartz countertops, white backsplash, ceramic backsplash and stainless steel appliances

Thick, concrete walls add stability to the structure, while also highlighting the compositional datum line, which serves as the visual break between wood and stone. Above this delineated 10-foot mark, horizontal bands of redwood add warmth and a Western quality to the modern home. Photo: Jim Bartsch

Bathroom - modern bathroom idea in San Francisco

This renovated brick rowhome in Boston’s South End offers a modern aesthetic within a historic structure, creative use of space, exceptional thermal comfort, a reduced carbon footprint, and a passive stream of income. DESIGN PRIORITIES. The goals for the project were clear - design the primary unit to accommodate the family’s modern lifestyle, rework the layout to create a desirable rental unit, improve thermal comfort and introduce a modern aesthetic. We designed the street-level entry as a shared entrance for both the primary and rental unit. The family uses it as their everyday entrance - we planned for bike storage and an open mudroom with bench and shoe storage to facilitate the change from shoes to slippers or bare feet as they enter their home. On the main level, we expanded the kitchen into the dining room to create an eat-in space with generous counter space and storage, as well as a comfortable connection to the living space. The second floor serves as master suite for the couple - a bedroom with a walk-in-closet and ensuite bathroom, and an adjacent study, with refinished original pumpkin pine floors. The upper floor, aside from a guest bedroom, is the child's domain with interconnected spaces for sleeping, work and play. In the play space, which can be separated from the work space with new translucent sliding doors, we incorporated recreational features inspired by adventurous and competitive television shows, at their son’s request. MODERN MEETS TRADITIONAL. We left the historic front facade of the building largely unchanged - the security bars were removed from the windows and the single pane windows were replaced with higher performing historic replicas. We designed the interior and rear facade with a vision of warm modernism, weaving in the notable period features. Each element was either restored or reinterpreted to blend with the modern aesthetic. The detailed ceiling in the living space, for example, has a new matte monochromatic finish, and the wood stairs are covered in a dark grey floor paint, whereas the mahogany doors were simply refinished. New wide plank wood flooring with a neutral finish, floor-to-ceiling casework, and bold splashes of color in wall paint and tile, and oversized high-performance windows (on the rear facade) round out the modern aesthetic. RENTAL INCOME. The existing rowhome was zoned for a 2-family dwelling but included an undesirable, single-floor studio apartment at the garden level with low ceiling heights and questionable emergency egress. In order to increase the quality and quantity of space in the rental unit, we reimagined it as a two-floor, 1 or 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment with a modern aesthetic, increased ceiling height on the lowest level and provided an in-unit washer/dryer. The apartment was listed with Jackie O'Connor Real Estate and rented immediately, providing the owners with a source of passive income. ENCLOSURE WITH BENEFITS. The homeowners sought a minimal carbon footprint, enabled by their urban location and lifestyle decisions, paired with the benefits of a high-performance home. The extent of the renovation allowed us to implement a deep energy retrofit (DER) to address air tightness, insulation, and high-performance windows. The historic front facade is insulated from the interior, while the rear facade is insulated on the exterior. Together with these building enclosure improvements, we designed an HVAC system comprised of continuous fresh air ventilation, and an efficient, all-electric heating and cooling system to decouple the house from natural gas. This strategy provides optimal thermal comfort and indoor air quality, improved acoustic isolation from street noise and neighbors, as well as a further reduced carbon footprint. We also took measures to prepare the roof for future solar panels, for when the South End neighborhood’s aging electrical infrastructure is upgraded to allow them. URBAN LIVING. The desirable neighborhood location allows the both the homeowners and tenant to walk, bike, and use public transportation to access the city, while each charging their respective plug-in electric cars behind the building to travel greater distances. OVERALL. The understated rowhouse is now ready for another century of urban living, offering the owners comfort and convenience as they live life as an expression of their values. Photography: Eric Roth Photo

A local Houston art collector hired us to create a low maintenance, sophisticated, contemporary landscape design. She wanted her property to compliment her eclectic taste in architecture, outdoor sculpture, and modern art. Her house was built with a minimalist approach to decoration, emphasizing right angles and windows instead of architectural keynotes. The west wing of the house was only one story, while the east wing was two-story. The windows in both wings were larger than usual, so that visitors could see her art collection from the home’s exterior. Near one of the large rear windows, there was an abstract metal sculpture designed in the form of a spiral. When she initially contacted us, the surrounding property had only a few trees and indigenous grass as vegetation. This was actually a good beginning point with us, because it allowed us to develop a contemporary landscape design that featured a very linear, crisp look supportive of the home and its contents. We began by planting a garden around the large contemporary sculpture near the window. Landscape designers planted horsetail reed under windows, along the sides of the home, and around the corners. This vegetation is very resilient and hardy, and requires little trimming, weeding, or mulching. This helped unite the diverse elements of sculpture, contemporary architecture, and landscape design into a more fluid harmony that preserved the proportions of each unique element, but eliminated any tendency for the elements to clash with one another. We then added two stonework designs to the landscape surrounding the contemporary art collection and home. The first was a linear walkway we build from concrete pads purchased through a retail vendor as a cost-saving benefit to our client. We created this walkway to follow the perimeter of the home so that visitors could walk around the entire property and admire the outdoor sculptures and the collections of modern art visible through the windows. This was especially enjoyable at night, when the entire home was brightly lit from within. To add a touch of tranquility and quite repose to the stark right angles of the home and surrounding contemporary landscape, we designed a special seating area toward the northwest corner of the property. We wanted to create a sense of contemplation in this area, so we departed from the linear and angular designs of the surrounding landscape and established a theme of circular geometry. We laid down gravel as ground cover, then placed large, circular pads arranged like giant stepping stones that led up to a stone patio filled with chairs. The shape of the granite pads and the contours of the graveled area further complimented the spirals and turns in the outdoor metal sculpture, and balanced the entire contemporary landscape design with proportional geometric forms of lines, angles, and curves. This particular contemporary landscape design also has a sense of movement attached to it. All stonework leads to a destination of some sort. The linear pathway provides a guided tour around the home, garden, and modern art collection. The granite pathway stones create movement toward separate space where the entire experience of art, vegetation, and architecture can be viewed and experienced as a unity. Contemporary landscaping designs like create form out of feeling by using basic geometric forms and variations of forms. Sometimes very stark forms are used to create a sense of absolutism or contrast. At other times, forms are blended, or even distorted to suggest a sense of complex emotion, or a sense of multi-dimensional reality. The exact nature of the design is always highly subjective, and developed on a case-by-case basis with the client.

Micahl Wycoff
Inspiration for a large modern open concept porcelain tile living room remodel in Houston with a bar, beige walls, a standard fireplace and a stone fireplace

A renovated master bathroom in this mid-century house, created a spa-like atmosphere in this small space. To maintain the clean lines, the mirror and slender shelves were recessed into an new 2x6 wall for additional storage. This enabled the wall hung toilet to be mounted in this 'double' exterior wall without protruding into the space. The horizontal lines of the custom teak vanity + recessed shelves work seamlessly with the monolithic vanity top. Tom Holdsworth Photography

Kamil Scislowicz
Mid-sized minimalist u-shaped light wood floor and brown floor eat-in kitchen photo in Chicago with a drop-in sink, recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, multicolored backsplash, ceramic backsplash, stainless steel appliances, an island and white countertops

Example of a minimalist closet design in Miami

Example of a large minimalist master gray floor bedroom design in San Diego with multicolored walls and no fireplace